The Red Balloon
by Iwritelikeaninja
Summary: 'My mother saw the horror on my face as the name was read out' This is my story about a young girl being entered into The Hunger Games.
1. Chapter 1

**YAY ANOTHER STORY WOOOOOOOO! I don't own The Hunger Games :( , Suzanne Collins does. I hope you like my writing/story/fanfiction/unicorn/whatever this is :)**

I watched a small child play with a bright red balloon today. I heard it squeak as he caught it in his hands, pulling on the string. It reminded me of my little sister. I never got to meet her but when my mother was in labour I bought her a red balloon to welcome her home. She was premature and she didn't make it through the night. My mother was devasated. She didn't leave the house for weeks. She named her Sky because apparently her eyes were as bright and as blue. I used to curl up to my mother, and she would run her finger through my hair and say 'What am i going to do Lizzie?'. My name is Elizabeth but there has not been a day gone by when my mother has not called me Lizzie. It's just me and mum in the house now. Dad left us here. He left us here alone. He couldn't face us after Sky died. Blamed himself for not getting the money. So he left. We got the visit the next day. The visit to tell us that he had been found dead in a riverbank. He had been walking along a lonely street when he had been mugged. But enough about that. I was walking from school, on my way to work when i saw the boy with the balloon. You don't see many here. Only on special occasions. It had cost me a whole weeks wages to buy a balloon for Sky. I earned it back fast. I am a good and fast worker. I help plant and harvest the crops. We live in District Eleven. The harshest district apparently. The day I saw the boy with the balloon was the day before the reaping. This is my third year of being entered. My mother only lets me take one tesserae a year and we only use it when we desprately need to. This year, my name, Elizabeth Samuels, will be entered into the reaping ball four times. The odds may be in myy favour. I don't know what my mother would do if I was reaped. We are each others everything. I would hate for my mother to be forced to watch me die.

Reaping day. My mother has put my long black hair into two neat plaits and she picked out a sea green dress and white knee high socks for me. I walked to the town square holding mum's hand. When I have to go and sign in, my mother is reluctant to let my hand go. I hug her. I reassure her that I will be fine, that I will not be reaped, that it will be someone else and that we will go home tonight and have that groosling that we have been saving. She lets me go and she whispers 'I love you' in my ear. I tell her that she needs to stop thinking the worst. I go and sign in and join the rest of the fourteen year old girls. Then the Capitol representitive, Angelina Sparks gets up on the stage, dressed in the most rediculous outfit of pumpkin orange, and introduces the video that we watch every year. After the video finishes she goes back upto the microphone and says 'Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be EVER in YOUR favour.' before saying ' Let's do the ladies first!' They have no idea how silly their accents sound to the rest of us. She makes her way over to the girls reaping ball and the place is silent. Her hand hovers in the top of the glass ball for a moment before she dives it in and pulls up a slip of paper. She holds it up by her head as she walks back to the microphone. She fumbles with it for a second and then reads the name out loudly and clearly. Everyone holds their breath and the parents at the side are usually thinking the worst at this point. Angelina announces the girl. She said one word, one word and I felt like I was going to melt. The first name she said was 'ELIZABETH...' I glanced over at my mother who had started weeping hysterically and she could see the horror on my face as the second name was read out. 'SAMUELS! Elizabeth Samuels!' Angelina Sparks' boomed across the town centre. Our worst fears had been realised. Everyone stared at me, willing me to step forward. They parted like the red sea as I took shaky footsteps to the edge of the row. I was surrounded by Peacekeepers the second I stepped out of my row. They marched me forward and up onto the stage. Angelina gestured me forward as I wobbled up the steps to the stage. I saw a red balloon bobbing up and down in the distance as Angelina asked for volenteers. The place was silent. Not even the Mockingjays were singing. I was now a tribute. Angelina half hopped, half walked over to the boys reaping ball. I couldn't take my eyes off of my mother, wondering what would happen to her when I was gone. I came out of my daze just in time to hear Angelina read out the boys name. ' DAMIAN WELLART! Damian Wellart!'

**OOHHHHHH CLIFFHANGER! I hope you liked this story. There are more chapters to come so yay for that :D. Please review if you like. Thanks. :D. and yes i do like smiley faces XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! YAY :D I hope that you are enjoying my story** **:D**

I look at the crowd, trying to pick out the guy who will shortly be standing next to me. Then I saw him. Damian Wellart. He looked about 18 and was very tall and muscular with brown hair that fell over his eyes. We shook hands. He looks me right in the eye. His chestnut eyes fixed on my light blue eyes. We stand back and our names are announced are lead into the Justice Building. I was taken to a plush room and Damian was lead to an identical room to my left. I sat down on one of the chairs and I heard the door being locked. I put my head in my hands and I started to cry. I didn't care if they saw me like this. Showed I had feelings. My mum came in and hugs me. She ran her fingers through my hair and said ' what are we going to do Lizzie?' They let her stay for the hour. No one else came to see me. I don't have many friends so it was expected. They let her stay for the hour. I kept telling her that I would try so hard to win. I told her I could do everything in my power to keep us both alive. Angelina came in and told me that it is time to leave. I give my mother a long hug and she kisses me. I tell her 'I love you' and i let them take me away. Damian hadn't been crying. His face was as white as a sheet. But no tears had fallen from his eyes. He had two younger sisters to look after. I remember seeing them around school. One must have been about sixteen, the other fourteen, my age.

We made our way onto the train. It was the most luxurious place I had ever been in. Angelina escorted us to our rooms. She told us that our mentors would meet us soon. After about ten minutes of sitting staring out of the window at the fast moving world outside, I heard the door open. A tall girl sat down next to me on my bed. She immediatly started asking me about my 'skills'. I told her i had none. 'The only thing I am good at is cutting down crops during the harvest. I can hide too.' I told her very plainly. Her name was Heather Blurich. I remeber watching her games a few years ago. She won her games aged sixteen. She was very talented with a bow and arrow. 'Hiding is essential. Apart from finding water and shelter. If they can't find you, they can't kill you.' Heather explained. We had been talking about getting sponsers and finding water and shelter for an hour when Angelina popped her head around the door and said 'Dinner!' in her very shrill Capitol accent. I walked out of my room with Heather and sat down at the table. The spread was enormous. Huge bowls of soup, baskets of bread, a whole rack of lamb, a roast chicken and cakes and desserts galore. I helped myself to a thin broth that reminded me of the soup that mum made with our tesserae oil when we needed it. There was every type of bread your could imagine. I choose a greeny looking loaf and dipped it into my broth. It tasted like heaven. After I had finished my broth I tried to pick out a dessert. Eventually Angelina picked out something for me. She called it cheesecake. It was amazing, but a little too rich for my liking. I was introduced to Damian's mentor. I wasn't really paying attention when his name was mentioned.

After we ate I went straight to my room. The drawers has been filled with the most elegant clothes you could image. I ingored the fancy jammies and chose simple white cotton jammies. I tugged my hair of of their plaits and pulled off my bluey green dress and white knee highs. I spent a long time staring out of the window, at the now dark world outside. I crawled into bed and screwed myself into a small ball. I woke up several times during the night by nightmares, about what was going to happen to me, happen to my mother. I thought of what she might be thinking. I hoped that she was being strong, for herself, for us.


	3. Chapter 3

**Before I write chapter 3 I want to say thanks to all of you that have put this story on your story alert. You are AWESOME. CHAPTER 3!**

I was woken by a light tapping on my door. I heard it open and Angelina's shrill voice calling for breakfast. I went into the bathroom and showered in some kind of orangy foam. I then tried to find something to wear. I found a pale pink, knee length dress in the wardrobe and slip it on over some clean underclothes. I fumbled around in the drawers and found matching pink shoes. I put them on and plaited my hair into two plaits and secured them with ribbons. I walked into the dining car and Angelina was thrilled at how neat and presentable I looked. I sat down and picked my way through a bowl of fruit and drank filled with an orange liquid that was so sweet. I presumed it was orange juice. I have never tasted an orange before, even though we grow them hugely in the fields back home. I finished breakfast and made my way into the next carriage. It was filled with plush couches and chairs and high-tech televisions and it even had a telephone. I sat in one of the couches and allowed it to swallow me up. I had been sitting there for about ten minutes when I heard the door open and saw Damian walk in. He sat next to me and started talking. It was just small talk, but he made me feel comfortable. He gave me a hug and promises to look after me in the arena. He told me that I reminded him of his youngest sister, who he loved very much. I told him I didn't have any siblings. I told him about Sky and my father. I knew I should be wary of him but he felt like an older brother rather than a target that I had to kill. We are both silent as we enter the Capitol station.

We walked off of the train with huge smiles on our face, even though we were both dying inside. The audience loved it though. They were cheering and whistling at us. Craning to get a look at this years entertainment. We were wisked off to the Recreation Centre, where they will 'make us over' I get shoved into a room with three people. My stylists apparently. They introduce themselves as Yonti, Wissa and Zina. Yonti had bright yellow hair and his skin was pale blue. Another stupid Capitol trend, dying your skin. Wissa, was blue all over, like she had been frozen. Zina on the other hand was all reds and yellows and oranges. They undid my plaits, took off my dress and shoved a robe on me. They then waxed almost every part of my body, plucked at my eyebrows until they burned. They trimmed off the very ends of my hair just to 'neaten it up' I have only ever had two hair cuts since I was born. One to take away my baby hair and the second was to take my hair up to a bob when I started school. I haven't had it cut since. I was then taken to a second room where I was left alone, for a bit. I had been standing in there for about five minutes when the door opened and a very tall man with bleach blonde hair and heavily outlined blue eyes came in. He intoduced himself as Arcu, my main stylist. He explained my outfit for tonights Tribute Parade. A farmers plaid in a knee length dress with a golden crown of grain. It is always the same outfit.

My eyes were made up with blue and my cheeks were filled with colour. I looked rediculous in my outfit. I felt rediculous in my outfit. Thankfully Damian looked just as rediculous. He was dressed in the same plaid as me but it was with denim dungarees and a golden grain crown. We boarded our charriot and I started shaking as it started to move. ' You'll be fine. They'll love you' Damian whispered into my ear. I put my biggest smile on as we entered the parade square. I was waving and smiling and people seemed to love it. They loved us. They threw us flowers and blew us kisses. We smiled as big as we could and my jaw began to hurt. Damian playfully hugged me and laughed as the charriot came to a halt. President Snow gave his speech that always ended with 'Happy Hunger Games!'. We were then free to go. For were lead up to our floor of the training center. I thought that the train was grand, until I saw that place. It was huge. The most luxurious things everywhere. I went to my room and immediatly went in the shower, washing all of the makeup, and getting all of the product out of my hair. I brushed my hair and put jammies on. Angelina called for dinner, that I had forgotten about. I felt silly sitting at the dinner table in white cotton jammies whilst everyone else was wearing proper clothes. I slipped away from the dinner table and crawled into bed. I fell asleep almost instantly.

Training. I started at the survival areas, with Damian. We had agreed to be allies in the arena and had decided to train together. We learned how to tie knots , make snares, start fire and identify poisonus plants. We were fast learners. I found I was handy with a knife. VERY handy. I guess chopping down crops in a field everyday for six years pays off. Damian could throw a spear from ten meters away and hit every time. We had both found our strengths. On the second day of training I made my way over to the camoflauge booth. I was pretty good at it and by the end of the day had painted myself to look like a patch of grass. We trained hard, making sure to cover as much as we could in the short time that we had but it came too soon. The day where we showed the Gamemakers what we were truly made of. I knew exactly what I was going to do. My name was called and I walked into the center. I grabbed a knife and made my way over to the camoflauge booth. I painted myself and the knife to look like a tree. It look some time, but somehow I still managed to keep their attention. I made my way over to the targets and took aim at the furthest away dummy. It must have been about fifteen meters away. I threw my knife right at it and it hit right in the dummy's 'heart'. The Gamemakers looked almost dumbfounded. One of them spoke. 'You can go now Miss Samuels'.

We watched the scores flash up on the screen. The boy from District One, Petro, got a ten. The girl, Flos, got a nine. The boy from Two, Oak, got a seven and the girl, Cotton got an eight. Both from Three got a five and the two from Four, Trident and Angel, both got tens. I stopped paying attention after the Career scores had been read out. I came back to reality when I heard the name ' Damian Wellart' coming from the screen. Damian got a ten! A TEN! It has been a LONG time since someone from District Eleven got a TEN! Even Angelina only got an eight. I looked down knowing the worst. If Damian had gotten a ten then I had no chance. 'Elizabeth Samuels. A... NINE!' A NINE! After that score I finally felt like I had a shot to win. I could go home to mum.

**DAH DAH! That one was LONG! The next one will be interviews with Caeser Flickerman :D! are you excited? cause i am. :D **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again you lovely people. It's time for another chapter. Thank you for favoriting this story and putting it on story alert. You are awesome 3**

I woke up with Heather sitting on my bed. 'Ok Elizabeth, today we will train you for your interview. You will spend four hours with Angelina, practising manners and that sort of stuff. Then you will spend four hours with me practising your angle.' I nodded and Heather leaves. I showerd in some sort of lemony foam and decided that I should wear something girly so that Angelina will not be as snappy and demanding as she might have been. I raked through the clothes on the rack for a bit before I found it. Bingo. A thin floor length dress designed with a pattern lightly etched in white. As always I found a pair of matching blue and white shoes, with little white bows on the toes. I walked out to breakfast and Angelina, just looked at me, mouth open. I sat down and started picking at one of the greeny rolls, I liked so much before Angelina said anything. ' We really have found a good, well dressed girl havn't we!' she said excitedly as I helped myself to another green roll.

After breakfast, Damian and his mentor went to his room to discuss his angle, while I got left with Angelina. I had to practise walking in sky-scraper heels, whilst wearing a skirt that got caught on the heel every time I took a step. I had to practise pronunciation because apparently, people from District Eleven speak funny. I thought that was a bit rich coming from someone who constantly sounds like they have had a suck of helium. It was the longest four hours of my life. It was a relief to be called for lunch. Lunch was a fancy chicken dish served on some special rice and covered in a white sauce. I had never had chicken before. Chicken is VERY hard to come by in any District. After lunch I got to sit down with Heather and discuss angles and strategies that might help me gain sponsers. We decided I was better going for a girly, innocent, sweet and kind angle as it 'suits me' apparently. Unlike my time with Angelina, the four hours flew by and we were called for dinner. We ate our dinner fairly quickly as our stylists wanted to start 'working' on us.

We went down to the prep room and my stylists welcomed me with large, white smiles. Yonti, Wissa and Zina covered my face in light pink make-up. My hair was done up in light curls with a light pink bow tied around my head, but the knot didn't show. I got sent into a seperate room where Arcu dressed me. He told me to close my eyes and I felt a heavy material being slipped over my head. I felt tugging at my right wrist and a heavy necklace being placed around my neck. I felt more tugging around my waist, before Arcu told me to open my eyes. I opened my eyes and gasped. I looked like a princess, from one of those stories mum told me when I was little. I was wearing a light pink dress that fluffed out at the waist and continued down to the floor. I had a white ribbon around my waist with a diamond design on it. My necklace was the same diamond design. My feet are in matching pink shoes, that only had a slight heel. I had two ribbons tied around my wrist. One white, the other pale pink. My black hair flowed down my back to my waist and I couldn't help myself. I flung my arms around Arcu and hugged him. 'Thank you' I whispered. I walked out and looked at Damian. He was wearing a black suit and a white shirt, but all of the buttons and his tie were the same colour as my dress. I started shaking and I didn't really pay attention to the other Tribute's interviews. I only knew that I was terrified. My name was called and I walked out onto the stage. That year Caeser Flickman's hair was sea green and he was wearing the same suit. He jestured me over to a chair and I look out at the sea of eyeballs. Knowing that my mother is watching, I have to do her proud.

Caeser: So Elizabeth, what do you think of the Capitol?

Elizabeth: Strange. It's less green than at home.

Caeser: Less green?

Elizabeth: Well at home, you are surrounded with trees and fields and plants, and there isn't that much here in comparason.

Caeser: Now talking of home, how did you feel when you realised that it was your name that had been reaped?

Elizabeth: I felt paralized. I didn't know what to think.

Caeser: Were you thinking of anyone in particular?

Elizabeth: Yes. My mother. We are all each other has. My father died when I was ten and I don't have any other siblings.

Caeser: Did your mother come and see you afterwards, in the Justice Building?

Elizabeth: Yes.

Caeser: What did you say to her?

Elizabeth: I told her that I would try my best to win, to come home to her.

Caeser: Yes, yes you will. Now I want to talk about your fellow Tribute, Damian.

Elizabeth: Yes. He is very kind. He is like a brother to me.

Caeser: Nothing romantic then

Elizabeth: NO NO! He had a very pretty girlfriend back home.

Caeser: DOES HE NOW!

Elizabeth: Yes.

Caeser: Well you look stunning tonight. If you get home I am sure the boys will be fighting over you!

'buzzer goes'

Caeser: Well I wish you the best of luck Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: Thank you.

I shook his hand and walked off stage. Angelina and Heather start flailing at how well I did and they are congratulating me. But I want to hear Damian's interview.

Caeser: So Damian, Elizabeth let slip that you have more than just your family rooting for you at home.

Damian: Well yes.

I saw Damian's cheek flush up in embarrasment but Caeser didn't mention that at all.

Caeser: What is the lucky ladies name?

Damian: Khrystlin. I love her very much.

Caeser: She is your main motivation to win then?

Damian: Yes. If I get back I...I...I was planning on asking her to marry me.

Caeser: Well you better try your best to get home to her. Now moving on, Elizabeth said that she thought of you as a brother. Is she like a sister to you?

Damian: Yes. She reminds me of my youngest sister, Opzia. My other sister is Channis.

Caeser: Did your sisters say goodbye to you?

Damian: Yes. They told me to come home.

'Buzzer goes'

Caeser: Well folks, that is our District Eleven tributes. The best of luck to you Damian. Lets get you home to your Khrystlin and your sisters, Opzia and Channis.

They shook hands and Damian walked off stage looking very relieved.

**I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY THAT THIS IS SOOO LATE D:! Homework sucks. I hope you liked it :D!**


	5. Chapter 5

**yay another chapter. Sorry this one took so long, it just took so MUCH planning and i don't even plan that much. It is kinda an important part though... ENJOY :D**

I woke up early the next day. I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped that when I opened them I would be in my bed across from my mothers, in our little house in District Eleven. That was obviously too much to ask for, because when I opened my eyes I was still in the flashy bedroom in the Capitol. I finally forced myself up. I showered and I didn't bother wearing anything fancy because we would be getting dressed in the catacombs anyway. I paid careful attention to my hair though. I plaited in the same way my mother did on the day of the reaping. Two simple plaits. I ate and drank as much as I could, after remembering the one year where half of the tributes died of dehydration. We were lead up to the roof and onto the hovercraft. There was a woman going around injecting something into each of the tributes arms. She came to me and I felt a sharp sickly pain in my arm. I had only ever had one shot when I was little and after I had decided that I never wanted another one again. I let out a small yelp, causing the girl sitting next to me to look terrified when the woman asked for her arm.

Touchdown. I found Damian and before they dragged us off to our seperate catacomb's, he gave me a hug. I walked into the small room and Arcu was waiting for me. Plain Kaki trousers, camoflauge t-shirt, what looked like mountain boots, and a kaki coloured jacket that matched the trousers. 23 would die wearing to this outfit. I was certain I was one of them. Arcu hugged me just as Damian had, as a tannoy overhead said that it was time to go. I started shaking and crying and Arcu reassured me. 'Trust me Elizabeth, when I say that the next time I will see you in person will not be in a box. It will be up on that stage talking to Caeser Flickerman about how you won.' Arcu said comfortingly. ' I wish I could say the same.' I stepped onto the small platform and allowed it to engulf me with it's plastic tube. I started rising and I began to panick, but remembered that I had to stay calm. 'I could be dead in five minutes. NO! I cannot think like that.' I started arguing with myself as fresh air hit my lungs. I was preparing for sunlight to blind me, but insead I looked up and saw a canopy of tree's. We were in a fairly large clearing in a forest, the Cornocopia was right in the middle. I could hear a trickle of water behind me, that could mean only one thing. was a small black backpack about two meters away from my podium. It was brimming with supplies. I quickly made a plan in my head. Grab the backpack and rebound and follow up the stream as much as I could. I heard a voice coming from somewhere counting down. 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1. BANG!

The cannon was deafing. I jumped off of my podium and ran as fast as I could to the little black bag. Luckily I got to it before anyone else and I rebounded and ran towards the stream. I looked behind me and I saw Damian following quickly in my tracks, holding a medium sized camoflauge backpack. I didn't slow down. I just kept running until the sound of screams and weapons were far away. Damian was still following me. I found a large oak tree by the stream with a small hollow at the bottom. The ground was soft, perfect for digging. Damian was sitting my the river looking through the backpacks we had both collected. He was smirking. ' two long peices of rope, a large stock of food between us, a knife, matches,two sleeping bags, some plastic, two small first aid kits, two water bottles, some saltine solution and...' Damian paused after listing the and bent over and pulled something up. 'A spear' I gawped at him. 'Yeah i had to wrestle that really big career, from One to get it.' I claimed the knife and grabbed the water bottles and starting filling them up at the stream. ' The ground underneath that hollow is really soft and compacts well. We could dig down and make a hide out. I could paint the plastic look like dirt.' Damian looked at me blankly for a minute and nodded.'Yeah that sounds like a plan.' A smirk appeared across his face for a second and disappered again. I picked up the water bottles, added the saltine soloution and handed one to Damian. After we had eaten some crackers and had some water, we started on our hideout. Damian dug the hole like a dog whilst I used the dirt that he dug up and used it to splat onto the plastic to make it look like a fresh layer of dirt. I laid the plastic in the sun and went to help Damian. A loud bang made me stop. The cannon. One,two,three,four,five,six,seven,eight,nine,ten,eleven,twelve. Twelve tributes dead. Half gone in one day. It must have been quite a bloodbath.

As the night became darker our hole became deeper and wider. The tributes faces flashed up in the sky. Both tributes from Three,Five, Six, Eight and Twelve were gone. The girl from Nine was up there too, as well as the boy from Ten. All of the careers were still fighting. We didn't stand a chance. We both nibbled on some more crackers, and went back to the hole. We had made fast progress. The both of us could now fit in a two meter deep, six foot by five foot hole. We grabbed our supplies and took them into the hole. We then carefully placed the plastic over the hole, so it covered the opening and slid in. It was dark, but Damian had found a small flashlight in the bottom of my rucksack that we hadn't found earlier. I fittied in the hole just right in my sleeping bag but Damian had to curl up a little. Damian had volunteered to take the first watch. I held my knife in my hand whilst I slept. It was an uneasy sleep, but I dreamt about my mother comforting me, telling me that I could do this. I clung onto my knife with all my might. I hadn't had the chance to use it yet but, mabye, I would get to use it soon.

**END OF CHAPTER END OF CHAPTER IT'S SO END OF CHAPTERY (tune to Spiderpig) I hope you liked this chapter. I have written the epilouge, and I am pretty happy with it. I still need to work out some name though. The next chapter evolves the Careers ohhhhhhh. Be scared 'waves hands in ghosty fashion' I need sleep. Reviews are like cookies BUT BETTER :O. :D ;D :L **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey and before I begin I just want to give a shoutout to molhan129 for adding me to their favorite authours list. I love you. Thank you. 3. Also thank you to everyone who was put this story on story alert and have favorited it. I love you all.**

I felt Damian's hand on my shoulder as I woke up from my uneasy sleep. It must have been about three in the morning because small cracks of light were peeking through small gaps in the plastic. 'Elizabeth, it's your shift.' Damian said sleepily. I rubbed my eyes and grabbed my knife as Damian handed me the small torch. It was a long shift. I nibbled on some food as I listened for any noises. Then I heard something. A girls voice. Sounded annoyed. 'Oak, we have been walking ALL night! Can we please sleep?' A deep voice answered. ' Fine, just because Cotton can't stop moaning, we will stay here for a while. Petro, you take the tree see if it has any fruits.' Oak, Cotton, Petro. It was the Careers.

I woke Damian gently but my whispers were fast. 'Damian, Damian, wake up! The Careers are outside.' He immediatly darted up and frantically whispered back. 'What? Should we go up. Do we attack or stay here?'. 'No' I whispered. 'We stay here. They're too powerful' I heard the chink of metal against metal. I presumed that it was Oak propping spears up against the tree. Damian and I stayed as quiet as we could. One wrong foot step into the tree could mean us being discovered, and most likely, killed. It felt like days until something happened. 'Petro stop doing that you are going to fall' I heard a shrill girly voice say. I presumed that this was Flos or Angel. 'I am not going to fall.' Seconds later we heard a thud and a scream. 'WHAT DID WE TELL HIM! OAK WHY DID YOU HAVE TO PUT YOUR SPEARS RIGHT UNDERNEATH HIM!' Soon after a cannon fired. I can guess what happened. 'come on lets go.' I heard Oak's deep voice saying. We waited until it was silent until we came out of hiding. It was an awful sight. Petro had fallen onto one of Oak's spears and had peirced him like a kebab. His mouth was wide open, his eyes staring, like he was eternally screaming. Damian saw i was getting a little uncomfortable and ushered me back into the cave.

We heard the hovercraft collecting Petro's body. It had hit us how lucky we had been to escape discovery by the careers. If we had been found we would both be up in that hovercraft with Petro. Damian hugged me. It really felt like he was my brother, even though I have only known him for about a week. We heard the hovercraft leave again and we decided to go out and hunt. I am useless at snares but Damian had a knack for them. I had just killed a bird of some sort and Damian was a few metres away from me concealed by a bush setting up a snare,when I heard an evil laugh from behind me. 'Well, well. Look what we have here.' Oak's cold voice rang through me ears like gun shots. I screamed and Damian appeared from behind his bush. Angel was brandishing her knife and I noticed her other hand grabbing for a dart blower and I noticed a flamethrower in Cotton's hands. Damian grabbed my hand and we ran with the careers right on our heels. I only stopped when I felt a blistering pain in my back and an awful smell. Angel had burned my back with her flamethrower. An inch of my hair has been burned to a crisp and my jacket has a gaping hole in it. The clothes underneath it seem to be fine but the jacket is wrecked. I had to keep running. Damian was behind me still. I heard him trip but i kept going, knowing he would get up. But he didn't. Instead I heard him scream as, Flos cut him right across the stomach. As soon as they thought he was good as dead, the careers left, laughing. I ran back to him, crying loud hysterical sobs. I looked at his stomach. It was no good. Unless. I managed to speak through my sobs. 'Heather, please, something.'

Seconds later I heard the tinkle of a bell and a silver parachute gilding towards us. It thudded to the ground next to my foot and i opened it as quickly as I could. There were two small tins in the container. One labled 'Burns' and the other 'wounds'. They might as well have labeled them 'Elizabeth' and 'Damian'. I put the one labelled 'Burns' in my pack and grabbed the first aid kit, the bandages and water. I opened the 'wounds' tin and inside was a greeny looking paste. I cleaned my hands with some water and smeared some onto my hands. I applied it gently to Damian's cut. At first he winced but he relaxed after a while. I wound some bandages around his stomach. I knew that it would be no use trying to move him back into our little hole, about ten metres away, because he winced in pain as I got him to roll into his sleeping bag. I racked around in my first aid kit, but all I found was fever pills, more bandages and a cream for disinfecting wounds. The cream would be handy later. I finally adressed my own wounds. I lifted up my already burned jacket and found my back had blistered from the heat and my hair had started to crumble. I cut the singed bit of my hair off and my hair was brought up to the middle of my waist. I opened the tub that was labelled 'burns' and found it was filled with a yellowy cream. I applied it to my blistered back and felt instant relief. It cooled and soothed my red back. I looked up and Damian was asleep, and snoring, loudly. I kissed him on the cheek, before climbing into my own sleeping bag next to him. There was nothing romantic between us. He had a girlfriend and he was about four years older than me. He was my brother as far as I was concerned.

**IT HAS BEEN FOREVER SINCE I UPDATED I KNOWWWWW! sorry. I left this one on (sort of) a cliffhanger just to annoy you more :D. Reviews are like cookies but better!**


	7. Chapter 7

**IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER YEAHHHHHH! ENJOY!**

I woke up and I saw that Damian was already awake. He looked groggy but he had a bit more colour around him now after a good night's sleep. 'Why did you save me?' Damian asked me as I was filling up our water bottles. 'What? How could you even ask that?' I was shocked he would ask such a question. 'I am here to help you.' I repled still a little shocked. 'But why help me when I could die and you could win?'. ' I am not letting you die ok. Here' I passed him a cracker, and I helped myself to one. He nibbled on it gently. 'Plan of action?' He asked a little more enthusiastically. 'Get you back in the hide-out and I'll try and get that meat we cooked yesterday cleaned and cooked without causing too much notice.' He nodded. I walked over to him and helped him out of his sleeping bag and helped him slide the ten metres over to the hole in the tree. He slid in and I passed his sleeping bag in. 'I'll be back later to look at your wounds and give you some nice warm food. Rest for now please.' I could just make out him nodding from the blackness of the hole underneath the tree's.

All we had caught yesterday was the bird I had got just before we had been attacked by the careers. I checked the snares and, nothing, empty. I cleaned the one kill that we had and started a small fire that only smoked a little, hardly noticeable. I had forgotten that i had filled up the water earlier, so I treated it and let it sit whilst the unknown bird sat cooking above my tiny fire. About an hour later the bird was ready and so was the water. I tore off a leg and tore away the plastic above the hole. Damian looked ast first startled then happy to see me. I waved the leg of meat at him. 'Hungry?'. 'Starving' I passed him the leg and a water bottle. He attacked the leg as I ate my own leg of meat as quickly as I could without giving myself indigestion. I was just adressing to Damian's cut when two loud bangs made me jump and smear the cut paste up Damian's chest. 'Who do you think...' I whispered. 'We'll find out tonight' Damian whispered back, interrupting me.

That night the faces of the boy from nine and the girl from ten shone in the sky. Two more victims of the careers. Only nine left, the careers and us. We had no chance. It was my turn for watch when another cannon went off, soon followed by another. The careers were killing their own now. Seven of us left. Damian might get to go home. I might get to go home. But both of us were not going to make it out of this arena alive. I thought of his girlfriend, Khrystlin. She was small and dainty, very beautiful. She like most of our District,had dark skin and silky black hair that fell just past her shoulders. I wasn't sure about her eyes but it was clear why Damian loved her. I didn't really have anyone special at home, apart from my mother. I never really liked any of the boys back at home. Didn't look really. It's too late for that now though. Damian had been woken by the cannon's. He immediatly realised what I had earlier. The careers were killing each other.

Morning. We had both woken up and were sitting by the river eating the rest of the mystery bird meat when a loud voice boomed into the arena. 'Tributes. Well done for making it into the final seven. As a.. congratulations for your skill, we would like to invite you to a feast. There will be food of course, but there will also be tools, things you all need. It shall take place in an hours time. May the odds be ever in your favour' I looked at Damian and said, 'I'm going.' He was not happy. 'Are you nuts, do you have some kind of death wish.' He whispered angrily. Our food supply was getting low and we were running out of badages to help keep Damian wound clean. It was getting better. It kinda looked like a massive long thin scab across his stomach now, but I couldn't risk it. 'We need food, and bandages.' I told him.' We'll be fine.' he said, doubt ringing around his words. 'No we won't, we have had one kill this whole time and we have only been surviving on those crackers and jerky strips for the last week.' It seemed much shorter. Damian sighed. 'Fine we will go but we run grab what we can and go.' I nod and we gather our things and head to our potential deaths.

**! Feast next chapter, and some more deaths. Might be the finale. I already know who wins and I have an epilouge planned out. YAY. Review's are like cookies but better :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**IT'S TIME FOR THE FEAST AT THE CORUCOPIA! I still don't know wether this is gonna be the last chapter before the epilouge. It depends how much detail I put into this chapter. ENJOY :D!**

We walked slowly to the middle of the arena. I could tell Damian was getting more anxious as we got closer and closer to the Cornucopia. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I was terrified. But we were going hungry and Damian needed bandages if he was going to keep his wound from being infected. We had to go. The large clearing came into view slowly and the large silver Cornucopia right in the middle, with the twenty four platforms in a semi-circle around it's mouth. There was a large, long table in the middle, overflowing with all sorts of food. Bread, fruit, meats. Randomly dotted inbetween the piles of food, were small silver containers, like the one that was on the end of the parachute that our medicine came in. Damian grabbed my hand quickly, squeezed it and dropped it as quickly as he had grabbed it. We were both preparing to die, or to watch the other be killed.

We stepped out into the clearing slowly. There was no movement. No noise. Just a slight breeze whistling between the trees around us. Then I saw something. A rustle in the trees. Someone was up there. Watching us. Maby even plotting our deaths. My footsteps become faster. I started to run. I got to the table and just started grabbing stuff, shoving food into my bag. I turned around and I saw Damian in a fight with Cotton. I screamed and ran over to help, but it was too late. Damian had picked her up and thrown her with all of his might. She landed on her head. Not a pretty sight. Her cannon went off a second later but I was back at the table searching for a silver container. My hands found one in between a bowl of apples and a basket of bread. The careers had come out of hiding now. Weapons brandished, evil smiles across their faces. Six of us left. All here in the clearing. Me, Damian, Angel, Oak, and two tributes I had forgotten about, the two from Seven. I don't know how I had forgotten about them. I thought it was just us and the careers. I was wrong.

They didn't last long though. Angel, shot the girl with a dart that must have had poison on it because she fell over writhing in pain, screaming for her district partner to help her. He was in a fight with Oak so he couldn't. She screamed once more and then fell silent. Angel went over and prounced her dead. Her distict partner went insane, lashing out at them. It wasn't the best tactict. He was stabbed deep in the stomach as her cannon went off. He fell beside her and curled into a ball. He was dead in seconds. Four left. Four. Only three more to die. I looked at Damian who was clutching a spear. His eyes told me all I needed to. Run. Run as fast as you can. Don't look back. So I did. I ran. I was at the edge of the clearing when I heard Damian scream. 'DUCK ELIZABETH DUCK!'. I turned around and saw one of Angels darts headed straight towards me. She had been following me. I fell to the ground and closed my eyes, and hoped that I hadn't seen my last light.

**Another short-ish chapter. Sorry. I decided to keep the finale until the next chapter :D. Reviews are like cookies but better :DD**


	9. Chapter 9

**! FINALE TIME. I will not delay this any further. ENJOY**

Sunlight pricked by eyes and I saw Angel's face sneering down at me. She had pinned me down onto the floor. I felt a sharp, pain running up my leg. She had my knife. I screamed and felt her weight being lifted off of me. Damian had picked her up and thrown her. Just like Cotton, she landed on her head and died from impact. Three left. I didn't want to have to kill Damian. I hoped that Oak aimed for me and not Damian. I retrieved my knife as Angel had dropped it when Damian threw her. Oak had disappeared. 'Lets get out of here.' Damian whispered. I shook my head. 'No, it has to end now.' Damian hugged me as tight as he could. We broke apart just in time to see Oak emerging from the Cornucopia with a large knife. I had seen his knife skills. He could throw about ten metres. He was walking towards us. He started running and threw the knife with all of his might. He was close enough. I could hit him. I threw my knife at him and it got him right in the heart. I hadn't seen where his knife had gone. Until I heard him scream.

'DAMIAN! DAMIAN!' The knife had got him right in the stomach, deep. Oak's cannon went off and Damian fell to the ground. I was crying loud, heavy sobs when I heard him whisper, 'Thank you, Elizabeth for taking care of me. Thank you.' His voice was getting weaker with every word. I clung to him as he shut his eyes. 'No Damian please, stay awake' I begged. It was no use. His cannon fired. The victory trumpets went off but I still clung to him. I never wanted to let go. I heard a voice come into the arena. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Elizabeth Samuels, the winner of the 67th Hunger Games!' The hovercraft came and I had to let Damian go. I kissed him on the cheek and let them take me. I was rushed into a room full of doctors who were looking at my leg. I had forgotten that Angel had cut it. The pain of losing Damian was worse. My leg healed and I was left with a huge scar, that even the Capitol couldn't take away.I was interviewed, questioned about my time in the arena. I gave plain straight answers. Talking about it was, painful. It still is.

I was silent the whole train ride home. I came on the train I ate I went to my room and fell asleep. I only came out for meals. Heather, tried to comfort me. It was sweet of her to try but it was no use. When I came off the train I smiled. My mother was there. I couldn't wait to hug her and tell her how much I loved her. There was a televised ceremony of us getting our house in the Victors Village. We had three neighbours. An old man, who I didn't reconise, Damian's mentor and his family and Heather and her family. The worst night was two nights after we had moved into our new house. There was a knock on the door. I answered it. It was Khrystlin, Damian's girlfriend. She had come to invite me to Damian's funeral. I of course accepted. She told me something else too. Something I wish that he had mentioned. 'Elizabeth. Did Damain ever mention anything about me?' I shook my head. 'No only at the interveiws.' She looked down. 'I told him in the Justice Building, after the reaping, he deserved to know.' I was confused. 'what did you tell him.' She looked me straight in the eye and said 'I'm pregant.' No wonder Damian looked so pale in the car ride to the train. I understood now why he was so protective of me. I was the youngest competitor, by about two years. I had a nightmare that night. I was watching Damian's death over and over again. I was happy to wake up.

Seven months later, Damian's beautiful daughter, Rosea Wellart, came into the world. I was on the Victory Tour and was disapointed to miss it. Khrystlin named me Godmother, even though I was only just fifteen. She was beautiful. She had Damian's hazel eyes and tufts of black hair just like her mothers. We all missed Damian. Even though I didn't talk to him before the games, we were very close. I still had nightmares. I ocasionally woke up and saw the lights in Heather's lights on. I was healed on the outside, but the scars were deepest on the inside.

**What did you think? Was it good? I made you guys think she was dead! HA I TRICKS YOU! Damian dying was the worst part to write about. Sadness :(. Remember reviews are like cookies but better :)!**


	10. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE TIME! Enjoy :D**

The second war between the Capitol and the rebels was three years ago now. I won my games eleven years ago. I stayed in Distict 11 until public transport was allowed. My mother and I both helped with the rebuilding of District 12. We met Katniss. She was nice, but you could tell she was still unstable. After working in District 12 for six months I moved to District 4 but my mother went back to our house in the Victors Village. I moved to 4 because it was my favourite District, when I was on the Victory tour. The sea was calming and beautiful. I love it. My mother and Krystlin visit often. Rosea loves it here. She turned eleven a few weeks ago. I went back home to visit her. She is so much like her mother, but her father lives in her eyes. There was a monument made in District 11 for all those who had died in the Hunger Games. I made sure Damian's name was near the top. Near his cousin, Rue's name.

Shortly after moving here, I met my husband, a native to Distict 4. His name is Bryar Caverly. His brown hair falls over his sea blue eyes. I fell in love with him, like how I fell in love with the sea, when I came here on my victory tour. I married him a year ago and we have a small son. He is Orton Damian Caverly. Khrystlin was estatic when we told her we were naming him after Damian. My mother loves him to bits and spoils him rotten. He has Bryar's blue eyes. I love my two blue eyed boys.

I still get nightmares. Not often though. Maybe only once every two or three months. They are still as bad. They are mostly scenes of people dying. Oak, with the knife in his heart, Cotton and Angel with their heads smashed open and Damian with that massive knife in his stomach. My least favorite moment of my victory tour was District 2. Oak would have made it home if I didn't. I killed him. I couldn't look his family in the eye. He had a little sister. She couldn't have been more than five. I made it clear after the war that I never wanted to kill anyone. I still feel horrible about killing him. No one will ever have to go through that again. The world is a much better place without the Capitol. People are happier. More at ease. Everyone has a better way of life, now that the Hunger Games are gone.

**And that is that for this story. I hope you enjoyed reading Elizabeth Samuels' story. Remember that reviews are like cookies but better.**


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